Hello from a newbie

[paul1977]

Hello All.

I am interested in watch repair as a hobby. I have been looking at books and repair kits.

It would be great if professionals in this forum can direct in the right direction on the following list of things

1.  Books
2. Watch repair kits (looking at www.esslinger.com) --> any thought on the quality of this site.
3. Witch should I start with for my first watch

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Ced]

Hello Paul,

I was pretty much in the same situation when I started this hobby two years ago, so I am certainly no professional. 

This site helped me a lot: http://www.clockmaker.com.au/diy_seiko_7s26/ This is the best free source of structured information I could find so far, together with Esslinger and Mark's video of course... can't wait for his lessons to start later this month by the way !

I spent some time in Seiko modding, there are tons of sites about it. Thanks to these, I now feel confident enough to invest in more expensive parts in order to assemble my first ETA based watch later this summer. 

About books, I found most of them too advanced. There is one that provides a great deal of background information about watch assembly: https://www.amazon.com/Beginner-Watchmaking-Build-First-Watch/dp/1456451650 

True watchmakers will find this book ridiculously easy and sub-quality, but hey, we all need to start somewhere !    

Last but not least, I started with inexpensive Chinese and Indian made tools. Over time I got them replaced by German and Swiss made, as I realized how important the tools quality is in terms of reliability, accuracy, comfort...and therefore learning curve !

Cheers,

Cédric.

[oldhippy]

Hello from me. You will find plenty on here.

If you are starting out on watch repairing and have little or no experience, get yourself some old pocket watch movements and practice on taking them apart and putting together. Do not buy the fusee type get the spring driven type they are very similar to a wrist watch but much bigger. Also get to know what the parts are called. Buy a good set of watch screwdrivers, a good pair of tweezers and different eyeglasses you will need a few, you might need to practice first in holding an eyeglass.

[vinn3]

Paul,  welcome to the forum.   first you need magnification to look at very small parts,   ( i suggest a "head band magnifier" with replacable lenses) and some practice using tweesers to  pick up and move very small parts.  vinn

[paul1977]

thank you everyone for your advice and tips

Cedric: I prefer to get good quality tools right away. that way I will save money in the long run.

do you know a site where can I get swiss or german made tools, the site must be able to ship to Canada?

thanks

 

[Ced]

Hi Paul,

You can find Bergeon and Horotec tools (both Swiss) on Ofrei and Esslinger. 

The German brand Beco (less expensive, yet decent enough to me) can be purchased from: http://www.watch-tool.de/, they also ship to north america.

Cheers,

Cedric.

 

[paul1977]

thanks Cedric

[dadistic]

Greetings! I have purchased lots of items from Esslinger, but I would stay away from kits an buy tools alcarte. 

[bobm12]

Welcome Paul! Good tools are a plus and I agree with you to get the good ones straight away. Good books will help too, but you need to be ready for them as your watchmaking skills advance. Some pdf of De Carle are free on the net so that would be a good starting point.

Check Ofrei or the TimeZone Watch School for a list of tools needed...I've also found that quality (of the same name brand), choice and price are much better with ofrei than all the rest...although, cousinsUK sometimes are unbeatable even overseas. Also, don't forget to visit our tools section.

Cheers,

Bob